Dancers challenge abilities
by Rhonda Cookus
reporter

   A program that began with only 10 students has now grown to more than 100.
   Linda Quinn, who directs the NW dance program, said she has experienced that dramatic growth and can continue to pass her love of dance to others.
   Quinn started and directed the first dance program at Nolan High School and since has taken various teaching jobs.
   In 1999 Quinn started a program inviting disabled students to dance in a performance class on NW Campus.
   “Performance companies help dancers to grow,” she said.
   The reason for starting this program was to help people appreciate dance as an art, Quinn said.
   Now in her fifth year at TCC, Quinn said, “People learn the most about dance through audience feedback.”
   Brandi Sanford, now 26, said, “I was in theater appreciation when Linda announced to the class that she was looking for a few people in ‘the chair’ she could teach to dance.”
   This announcement began years of dancing for students with disabilities on NW Campus.
   Sanford was born prematurely and has never known what it was like to walk. She describes herself as “a stage person” and said this program is fun.
   “It helps you with memorization,” she said. “I get to be normal for an hour.”
   Since the beginning of the dance performance class, Sanford has made other friends with circumstances similar to hers.
   Tana Beasley, 49, also enrolled in the program in the spring of 1999.
   “I love the opportunity to dance,” she said.
   Unlike Sanford, Beasley could walk until she was 11. Despite numerous surgeries to help improve her legs, she has been unable to walk.
   “Dance helps with movement, and I love to be around the people,” she said.
   Although Sanford and Beasley are unlike most dancers who do switch leaps and jetes, these dancers use their wheelchairs as an advantage.
   With turns, arm movements and special choreography provided by Quinn, the two dancers bring a certain light to the stage that other performers could not.
   Troy Hart, 70, has been in the program for three years. He is not disabled as Sanford and Beasley, but most dancers in the company are not in his age group.
   “I’ve been here [TCC] for 10 years; I kept aggravating Linda to let me be in the program,” he said.
   “I wanted to dance at Bass Hall. Finally one Friday she said I could start on Monday,” he said.
   The three students have formed a trio to embrace life and have fun together. They dance together, and as they practice, they play and laugh.
   Mistakes are not a major concern to the three. On the “off” days when their group is not scheduled to practice, the three still attend to work on the piece.
   Along with being a teacher, Quinn is a friend and shares a sense of humor during practice time with all the students.
   She supports everyone in the class while all the company members support each other.
   Kristin Deaton, a 23-year-old member of five years, said the program is community-oriented and a member does not need prior dance experience.
   “Only one in 10 are actually dance majors; most just do it for fun and exercise,” she said.
   The ages for this program range from 17 to 70, and all students are included in the performance.
   Niki Thrasher, 23, has been a member for three years.
   “The dance program caters to all types of people,” she said.
   Quinn also describes this company as a community service opportunity, which is why April 29, the last dress rehearsal, will be a performance for a special needs group in Tarrant County.
   The performers are working with children at Turner Elementary to have a special piece. Students involved in Women in New Roles at TCC also will participate in the program.
   Rehearsals have just started. Tickets will go on sale the first week in April, and the actual performance will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 30, in Scott Theater.